The other day, I came across a product called LivingNow Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip cookie mix. They are certified by the Gluten Intolerance Group and boasted no artificial colors, flavors, sweeteners, or hydrogenated oils. made without the 8 major common allergens. Just pure gluten-free goodness (dedicated gluten-free, allergen-free facility), vegetarian/vegan, and GMO-free.
The photo on the front of the box was also very compelling (especially since I was in a chocolate-chip cookie mood).
See? Don’t they look yummy?
And I was further encouraged to buy them after reading the back: Premium-Quality Chocolate Chips. “We use rich, premium chocolate chips that are unbelievably dairy-free. The incredibly decadent taste of these chocolate chip cookies will make you forget they’re gluten-free”.
Now, the vegan option was to use 1 cup of applesauce and 1 tsp of baking soda in lieu of the egg and stick of butter. But I hate fruit in cookies, unless that is the point (like Linzer cookies). But to me, applesauce just does not belong in chocolate chip cookies, and while we’ve cut back severely on meat, we’re not vegan. So I made them with the primary suggested ingredients: 1 large egg, 1 stick of butter, and vanilla extract.
6 simple steps, followed nearly pricisely. I say nearly because on the first batch, T missed the “flatten each cookie with a hand or spatula” since she was in a hurry to get back to work, so the first batch ended up as cookie balls. I did flatten the second batch . . . but they didn’t spread out at all from the point I flattened them.
They also didn’t taste good.
The mix smelled great.
They smelled fabulous in the oven. But out of the oven? Pretty unappetizing aroma.
The chocolate chips were out-of-this world (I ate several before it all got put together). Wow. Some of the best chocolate chips I have ever had.
But they just turned into this mushy, flaky, and tasteless chocolate once baked, and the cookies had almost no flavor… and what flavor they had was definitely not appetizing.
The ingredients are pretty standard for chocolate chip cookies, so maybe it’s just the ratio of ingredients that I didn’t care for. The called-for vanilla says 1/2 tsp, but we love vanilla, so we used 1 full tsp. Couldn’t taste it at all.
All in all, these were a disappointment.
But, I still plan to try their banana bread mix (ever hopeful!). I’ll let you know how it turns out.
